Written Answers Wednesday 17 May 2006

Scottish Executive

Adoption

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current targets are in respect of the adoption of children in each local authority area.

Robert Brown: We are not aware of any targets set by local authorities for adoption of children.

Adoption

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were adopted in each local authority area in each year between 1995 and 2005 and, of these, how many have been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder.

Robert Brown: The number of children adopted in each local authority area in each year between 1995 and 2003 is shown in table 1. Information after 2003 broken down by local authority area, and information about the number of children adopted with autistic spectrum disorder, is not held centrally.

  Table 1: Number of Granted Adoption Applications by Local Authority, 1995 to 2003

  

Local Authority
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Aberdeen City
27
26
25
26
24
26
16
15
15


Aberdeenshire
34
32
31
34
30
32
20
19
19


Angus
21
12
11
10
6
3
8
7
10


Argyll and Bute
6
7
4
8
5
3
10
5
1


Clackmannanshire
7
9
8
4
6
4
7
2
4


Dumfries and Galloway
25
32
14
15
11
16
10
10
21


Dundee City
11
11
10
6
14
15
12
11
4


East Ayrshire
19
17
9
12
6
8
13
8
9


East Dunbartonshire
8
11
7
7
7
7
9
6
8


East Lothian
10
8
3
15
11
9
7
3
9


East Renfrewshire
8
10
8
7
6
7
7
7
3


Edinburgh, City of
30
25
26
28
34
24
22
14
25


Eilean Siar
4
6
1
3
5
1
3
4
3


Falkirk
13
23
20
12
8
4
6
11
3


Fife
54
40
32
33
46
29
34
33
38


Glasgow City
41
58
38
36
36
39
47
30
40


Highland
20
27
22
18
21
15
15
19
17


Inverclyde
1
9
12
3
5
5
4
6
4


Midlothian
6
5
6
6
8
5
5
3
6


Moray
19
10
10
19
15
15
5
9
10


North Ayrshire
22
20
11
14
7
10
15
9
11


North Lanarkshire
25
19
22
20
29
19
24
18
30


Orkney Islands
0
3
0
2
1
0
1
0
2


Perth and Kinross
16
13
13
18
14
20
9
16
7


Renfrewshire
17
21
15
13
12
15
14
15
7


Scottish Borders
17
12
10
18
11
17
23
14
10


Shetland Islands
1
6
1
5
1
6
0
3
1


South Ayrshire
16
15
8
10
5
7
11
7
8


South Lanarkshire
23
17
21
19
26
17
22
17
28


Stirling
10
6
8
9
2
8
5
14
5


West Dunbartonshire
7
9
6
6
6
6
8
5
6


West Lothian
17
14
11
22
19
6
23
12
7


Total 
535
534
423
458
438
399
414
351
370



  Note: Data collected from sheriff court areas mapped to local authority areas.

Asylum Seekers

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why there is no free pre-school care or nursery provision for children under five from families of asylum seekers or refugees.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend nursery provision for the under-fives to children of asylum seekers and refugees.

Robert Brown: Local authorities have a legal duty to provide a free, part-time, pre-school education place for three and four-year-old children.

  Free pre-school education is provided regardless of a child’s status, citizenship or ethnic background, provided the child is residing in Scotland.

  The Scottish Executive’s Childcare Strategy aims to provide affordable, accessible, quality child care for children aged 0-14 in all neighbourhoods regardless of children’s status. Funding is passed to local authorities, who are responsible, in consultation with their Childcare Partnerships, for allocating funding to meet local needs and priorities.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children with autistic spectrum disorder there were in each year since 1990, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) NHS board area.

Robert Brown: The information requested in relation to children and young people in publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools who have Individualised Educational Programmes and/or Records of Needs with autistic spectrum disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, is set out in tables entitled Numbers of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder by Local Authority Area and Numbers of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder by Health Board area  which are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39592 and 39593 respectively).

  The numbers of children who are not in education in each health board area are not available centrally.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it took to find an explanation for the increase in autistic spectrum disorder among those primary and secondary school pupils with records of needs and/or individualised educational programmes from 1999 onwards and, in particular, the recorded rise between 2001 to 2002.

Robert Brown: Up to and including 2001, information was only collected on those pupils with records of needs. Many pupils with high functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome would not have met the criteria for records of needs but would have Individualised Educational Programmes (IEPs). The increase in 2002 onwards is, therefore, partly attributable to pupils with IEPs being included in the statistical collection.

  The Executive is not aware of any peer-reviewed evidence that the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) has actually increased. The causes, nature and development of ASD are not fully understood but the general consensus is that ASD are a heterogeneous group of disorders resulting from a number of different causes, including a strong genetic factor. Diagnostic boundaries have been broadened and awareness has increased dramatically over the past 20 years leading to more cases being detected and correctly diagnosed.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to commission research into autistic spectrum disorder among primary and secondary school pupils to understand what the underlying reasons are behind the rises in pupils being identified as having autism.

Robert Brown: The Executive and Medical Research Council (MRC) have been taking forward a jointly funded research programme based on the agenda outlined in the MRC Review of Autism Research. The MRC has now committed over £3 million to new research. The awards range from clinical investigations in children and adults, to environmental risk factors, brain imaging and intervention studies.

  The Scottish Executive ASD Reference Group is represented on the UK Wide Autism Research Co-ordination Group (ARCG), which has been established by the Department of Education and Skills to provide a framework to enable greater co-ordination of autism research activity in the UK. ARCG has a number of aims including focusing in autism research funding on identified gaps such as biomedical research and research on interventions.

  In addition, the Scottish Inter-collegiate Guidance Network (SIGN) Council are developing a guideline for professionals working with children and young people up to age 18 on evidence based approaches to diagnosis, assessment and early clinical interventions for autism. The SIGN Guideline development will cover surveillance and should consider the evidence base for routine screening.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is in place to support pupils with autistic spectrum disorder once they leave the educational system.

Robert Brown: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places new duties on education authorities and appropriate agencies, including Careers Scotland, further education colleges and higher education institutions, to ensure early planning, preparation and the effective exchange of information to support children and young people with additional support needs to make a smooth and successful transition to post-school life – whether that is to education, training or work.

  As autonomous bodies, Scotland’s colleges and universities are responsible for ensuring their provision is accessible and inclusive to students with disabilities and other additional support needs. Both sectors have been successful in achieving this, as evidenced by the year-on-year increase in participation by students with disabilities.

  Colleges and universities can draw on various support to help them improve their provision. Guidance to PE Colleges on the subject was published in January 2005 when Partnership Matter’s set out the roles and responsibilities of the various bodies involved in providing support to students, and other tools from the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional specialists were recruited among the relevant educational professionals in order to increase the provision of support available to pupils identified as having autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Robert Brown: The information requested is not available centrally.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional specialists were recruited among the relevant allied health professions in order to increase the provision of support available to pupils identified as having autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been carried out by (a) Scottish ministers, (b) local authorities and (c) NHS boards of the additional financial cost of providing adequate support and provision for pupils identified as having autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority and NHS board area.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive provides significant funding each year to help local authorities make provision for children and young people with additional support needs, including autism spectrum disorder. Funding is allocated on the basis of each authority’s two to 19-year-old population. It is a matter for local authorities to decide how to utilise this funding in the light of local needs and circumstances.

  The information requested in relation to estimates carried out by local authorities and NHS boards is not held by the Scottish Executive.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the increase in autistic spectrum disorder among pupils identified with records of needs and/or individualised educational programmes having autistic spectrum disorder, what resources it has put in place to support non-educational agencies, and allied health professionals, to deliver a level of service for these pupils.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive has been making project grant awards to individual voluntary sector organisations in respect of additional support needs since April 1999. The awards specifically related to autism spectrum disorders have totalled over £1.5 million and are made on the basis of a two or three year cycle.

  In addition, the Executive provided a total of £3 million in 2004-05 and in 2005-06 to the Health Boards to assist them to prepare for and to support the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. This funding could be used in a variety of ways, such as to provide additional allied health professionals to support children and young people with additional support needs, including autism spectrum disorders.

Bridges

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the proposed examination of the economic, social and environmental impact and cost of retaining or removing tolls from the Tay and Forth bridges will begin and what form it will take.

Tavish Scott: The study will address concerns raised in the Scottish Parliament about the retention of tolls on the Tay and Forth Road Bridges.

  We will engage independent consultants to carry out a detailed study of the economic, social and environmental costs and impacts of retaining or removing the Tay and Forth tolls. The study will focus on the impacts of the tolls on the economy and local communities in Fife and Dundee; will also examine wider impacts, on the Lothians and nationally, and will follow the principles set out in the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance. Tenders will be invited with a view to appointing suitable consultants by the end of the summer.

  The appointee’s study will be informed by the findings of Phases One and Two of the Tolled Bridges Review, and by an analysis of evidence submitted to ministers in the course of this study. From today all interested parties are invited to submit any factual evidence they wish to provide in support of the retention or removal of tolls from the Tay and Forth Road Bridges. Submissions should be sent to the Scottish Executive at tolledbridges@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by 17 August 2006. I am also writing directly to members, relevant local authorities and other major stakeholders in the next few days to confirm this invitation to participate in the study. Details of the review will be available on the Executive’s website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Transport/Road/TollBridge.

  We expect a first report from the consultants later this year.

Central Heating Programme

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the standard of service provided under the central heating programme administered by Eaga Partnership Ltd.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  A tendering process is currently underway to appoint a managing agent to administer the central heating and warm deal programmes on behalf of the Scottish Executive. To ensure an impartial process is maintained it would be inappropriate to comment publicly on quality performance at this time. However, Communities Scotland continues to address customer service issues directly with Eaga.

  As a result of experience gained from issues identified during the first phase of the programme, obligations on the new management agent in the new contract have been tightened to ensure enhanced levels of customer satisfaction.

Central Heating Programme

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring satisfaction levels amongst individuals who have received grants under the central heating programme.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Eaga Partnership, which administers the central heating programme on behalf of the Scottish Executive, provides information on customer satisfaction levels. Monthly contract compliance meetings are held between Eaga and Communities Scotland to consider various key performance indicators, including customer satisfaction. Eaga have indicated that in 2005-06 customer satisfaction rates were recorded at 96%.

Child Care

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of child care staff (a) were qualified in 2005 and (b) are qualified in 2006 to (i) registration standards, (ii) SVQ level 2 and (iii) above SVQ level 2.

Robert Brown: The information requested on staff qualification levels for 2005 is given in table 1.11 of the Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 published by Scottish Executive National Statistics in 2006, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39531).

  Registration with the Scottish Social Services Council requires that the worker holds or be working towards an appropriate early education and child care qualification at SVQ level 2 or equivalent for support workers, SVQ level 3 or equivalent for practitioners and SVQ level 4 or equivalent for managers/lead practitioners. 68% of staff currently hold qualifications at SVQ level 2 and above.

  Information on workforce qualifications for 2006 has not yet been collected.

Civil Service

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average hourly wage is of its staff.

Mr Tom McCabe: Staff in Bands A-C in the core Departments of the Scottish Executive are paid an annual salary based on the pay range for their post.

  As at April 2006, the average hourly rates paid to staff were as follows:

  

Band
Average Hourly Wage


Band A (Administrators)
£6.57


Band B (First/Middle managers)
£11.13


Band C (Senior managers) 
£19.84



  For staff above Band C, in the Senior Civil Service, there is no immediate means of calculating an average hourly wage which would reflect the pay ranges, performance pay system and contractual hours within which they are required to work and which would present a meaningful picture of salary rates within the Scottish Executive for these grades. All Senior Civil Servants’ salaries sit within pay bands and performance pay arrangements set by the Senior Salaries Review Body and agreed by the Government, the latest information about which is available at www.ome.uk.com.

Credit Unions

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide financial and other support for credit unions to develop basic bank accounts.

Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive is providing funding of £400,000 in each of 2006-07 and 2007-08 to credit unions which are approved to carry out financial inclusion activities as a Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI), which can include the provision of credit union budgeting accounts. Through the SGEI we are compensating credit unions for providing a suite of financial products and in addition we are also in contact with Treasury colleagues and the Financial Inclusion Task Force who are working with the banking Industry on a GB-wide level to reduce the number of people who do not have bank accounts.

Credit Unions

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether membership of credit unions has increased since 1999.

Johann Lamont: Membership of credit unions in Scotland has increased since 1999 to just under 5% of the Scottish adult population. Credit unions have become a pivotal part of the social economy and we are fully committed to supporting them in their work to help and serve our communities, by offering affordable savings and low cost loans to their members.

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the detection rate of crimes has been in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The requested information is given in the following table.

  Number of Crimes Cleared up Each Year as a Percentage of Crimes Recorded, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 To 2004-05

  

Force
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Central
57.0
55.1
57.8
65.2
64.2
66.7
61.2


Dumfries and Galloway
58.8
56.0
50.7
50.1
51.0
55.2
61.2


Fife
51.5
42.6
44.6
45.5
47.6
46.1
44.2


Grampian
38.0
36.3
33.3
37.2
40.1
36.3
32.6


Lothian and Borders
37.4
41.5
46.4
45.7
43.7
41.6
42.1


Northern
62.4
55.9
58.4
65.0
64.3
66.1
60.3


Strathclyde
43.1
43.4
44.1
43.9
45.6
47.3
42.7


Tayside
38.5
41.1
42.0
36.5
42.3
55.6
55.1


Scotland
43.1
43.1
44.3
44.8
46.2
47.4
44.6

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of crime has been drug-related in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The percentage of crimes recorded by the police which are specifically drug crimes (possession, supply, manufacture or trafficking) are given in the table below.

  Number of Drug Crimes Each Year as a Percentage of Crimes Recorded, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2004-05

  

Force
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Central
8.5
6.5
9.0
10.8
11.0
10.6
9.8


Dumfries and Galloway
10.3
7.4
6.5
7.2
7.6
9.6
8.8


Fife
9.0
4.4
5.1
6.1
6.6
5.9
5.8


Grampian
6.3
4.8
4.8
6.4
8.2
7.2
7.4


Lothian and Borders
5.5
5.8
6.7
7.1
8.1
7.2
7.0


Northern
10.1
11.3
8.8
11.9
11.7
13.5
11.0


Strathclyde
8.2
8.3
9.2
9.9
11.4
12.6
11.4


Tayside
6.5
5.4
5.9
7.2
8.3
10.2
10.8


Scotland
7.6
7.0
7.7
8.6
9.8
10.2
9.5

Dentistry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what proportion of, dentists (a) have and (b) have not signed the new NHS contract, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: The "new dental contract" which was introduced on 1 April 2006 is relevant to England and Wales only, and does not apply in Scotland, as NHS dentistry is a devolved matter.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people under 16 have entered rehabilitation in respect of drug misuse for each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) collects information on problem drug users at the point of their coming into contact with drug treatment services. The following table shows the number of new clients aged less than 16 years, who have accessed any drug treatment and rehabilitation services for the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

  During this period, no clients under the age of 16 came into services specifically described as "residential rehabilitation".

  It is not possible to say why there were increased numbers reporting to services from 2003-4 onwards, but the reasons are likely to involve a combination of an increased focus on the importance of completing returns to the national database, as a result of the message that future funding may be linked to performance; increased efforts to follow up drops in returns from agencies and to train agencies in the correct completion of forms, and more young people coming into treatment.

  New Individual Patients-Clients Aged Less than 16 Years Old, Reporting to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database by Local Authority Area, 1995-2005 (Years Ending 31 March)

  

Council Area of Residence
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Aberdeen City
13
9
11
1
9
4
4
7
6
2


Aberdeenshire
5
2
4
4
1
4
2
18
22
16


Angus
4
1
9
2
-
5
6
1
1
4


Argyll and Bute
4
-
1
1
-
2
-
-
4
3


East Ayrshire
-
-
-
-
8
7
12
3
1
1


North Ayrshire
-
2
-
1
33
10
16
13
5
2


South Ayrshire
2
-
1
-
-
2
4
4
4
-


Borders
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
18
31


Clackmannanshire
1
-
-
1
1
-
-
-
2
-


Dumfries and Galloway
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
13
8
20


Dunbartonshire East
2
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
2
-


Dunbartonshire West
3
3
4
13
13
5
3
1
14
20


Dundee City
1
3
2
5
2
4
15
10
8
10


City of Edinburgh
4
8
3
7
7
8
15
31
19
17


Falkirk
1
2
-
1
3
3
4
8
17
8


Fife
7
13
10
9
20
26
51
40
70
88


City of Glasgow
26
27
17
28
23
53
12
11
52
19


Highland
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6
18
36


Inverclyde
5
10
3
7
-
7
4
3
-
18


North Lanarkshire
12
2
10
7
3
6
5
5
16
46


South Lanarkshire
6
3
-
2
-
1
2
8
24
10


East Lothian
3
2
7
2
7
3
3
3
1
-


West Lothian
3
2
5
3
3
-
14
28
52
30


Midlothian
5
5
4
1
7
4
10
-
1
6


Moray
5
3
-
-
-
2
-
1
-
-


Orkney Islands
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-


Perth and Kinross
1
2
1
-
-
2
7
5
4
-


Renfrewshire
10
7
13
21
13
16
31
12
14
27


East Renfrewshire
1
-
-
3
2
1
1
-
-
-


Stirling
2
-
1
-
-
-
12
14
26
5


*Scotland
124
106
107
118
156
175
234
245
411
418



  Note: *In some cases, the Scotland total is marginally lower than the aggregated local figures because some individuals have presented to services in more than one council area.

Fisheries

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it can take to ensure that any Scottish vessels allocated quotas under the recently concluded fisheries partnership agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco do not fish in the territorial waters of Western Sahara.

Ross Finnie: The EC/Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) is due to come into force on 1 June and ratification by the Council is expected on 22 May. The UK has secured 2,500 tonnes of pelagic quota in the agreement. Details of the number of licences to be made available to Member States are likely to be known at a later date. At that time, UK Fisheries Administrations will put in place the necessary mechanisms to award quota and licences.

  The European Commission has recently advised that there is nothing in the draft FPA that is inconsistent with international law governing the status of Western Sahara. The Fisheries Council will clearly want to explore this further when discussing the draft agreement on 22 May. The Scottish Executive agrees with the UK Government that it should not support an agreement that would prejudice the status of Western Sahara. The UK position supported by the Scottish Executive remains that its status should be dealt with under the UN process to assist the parties to achieve a political solution.

Flood Prevention

Mr Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement in respect of funding for the White Cart Water Flood Prevention Scheme.

Rhona Brankin: I am pleased to announce that the White Cart Water Flood Prevention Scheme was confirmed on 4 May 2006, without modification, and the agreement in principle to support Glasgow City Council’s planned expenditure with grant at 80% of eligible costs. Formal offers of grant will be made later this year as the council obtains tenders.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25367 by Mr Andy Kerr on 28 April 2006, what the incidence was of infants born with congenital heart anomalies, also expressed as a percentage of all births, in each year since 1995.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is contained in the following tables.

  Singletons Born in Scotland and Detected with Congenital Anomalies at Birth or During Infancy; Numbers by Anomaly and Year 1995-2003

  

 
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Neural Tube Defects*
39
44
30
35
34
22
22
23
24


 
Anencephalus
3
2
2
5
4
2
1
6
3


 
Spina bifida +/- hydrocephalus
27
35
21
23
26
17
16
15
17


 
Encephalocoele
10
7
8
7
5
3
5
2
4


 
Hydrocephalus (not counted in Neural Tube Defects total)
46
41
44
34
31
21
25
21
21


Anomalies of the heart and circulatory system*
500
504
504
458
506
529
492
402
478


 
Heart
301
292
304
240
233
270
266
232
289


 
Circulatory System
280
245
246
202
228
215
208
200
212


Cleft Palate
65
46
58
51
36
36
28
38
37


Cleft lip +/- cleft palate
54
38
60
47
41
43
39
36
43


Trisomy 13
6
5
5
4
7
8
3
6
6


Trisomy 18
20
18
12
15
8
10
19
9
16


Down’s Syndrome
73
63
88
59
63
64
53
35
49



  Singletons Born in Scotland and Detected with Congenital Anomalies at Birth or During Infancy; Rates per 1,000 Births by Anomaly and Year 1995-2003

  

 
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Neural Tube Defects*
0.67
0.78
0.52
0.63
0.64
0.43
0.44
0.47
0.49


 
Anencephalus
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.09
0.08
0.04
0.02
0.12
0.06


 
Spina bifida +/- hydrocephalus
0.46
0.62
0.37
0.42
0.49
0.33
0.32
0.30
0.34


 
Encephalocoele
0.17
0.12
0.14
0.13
0.09
0.06
0.10
0.04
0.08


 
Hydrocephalus (not counted in Neural Tube Defects total)
0.79
0.73
0.77
0.61
0.59
0.41
0.50
0.43
0.42


Anomalies of the heart and circulatory system*
8.59
8.97
8.80
8.28
9.57
10.31
9.84
8.17
9.67


 
Heart
5.17
5.20
5.31
4.34
4.41
5.26
5.32
4.71
5.85


 
Circulatory System
4.81
4.36
4.30
3.65
4.31
4.19
4.16
4.06
4.29


Cleft Palate
1.12
0.82
1.01
0.92
0.68
0.70
0.56
0.77
0.75


Cleft lip +/- cleft palate
0.93
0.68
1.05
0.85
0.78
0.84
0.78
0.73
0.87


Trisomy 13
0.10
0.09
0.09
0.07
0.13
0.16
0.06
0.12
0.12


Trisomy 18
0.34
0.32
0.21
0.27
0.15
0.19
0.38
0.18
0.32


Down’s Syndrome
1.25
1.12
1.54
1.07
1.19
1.25
1.06
0.71
0.99



  Source: ISD Scottish Linked Congenital Anomaly Database; Tables 28 and 29 on Scottish Health Statistics website. Congenital anomalies of the heart have been identified using diagnosis codes ICD9 745-746 and ICD10 Q20-24.

  Note: *Singletons with more than one congenital anomaly are only counted once in the category total. For example, if an infant was born with Anencephalus and Spina bifida, the anomalies would be recorded separately in each category, but only once in the total figure for Neural Tube Defects.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was spent by the NHS in treating gastroenteritis in bottle-fed babies, broken down also by NHS board in each of the last five years.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients received continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information is contained in the following table.

  

Health Boards
Total


1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Argyll and Clyde
1
1
1
10
0
2
1


Ayrshire and Arran
0
0
0
1
0
1
2


Borders
20
29
18
18
31
44
50


Dumfries and Galloway
1
0
0
0
0
0
1


Fife
70
53
60
63
68
113
132


Forth Valley
34
41
33
42
48
63
74


Grampian
38
44
46
74
0
0
1


Greater Glasgow
7
1
7
4
3
2
4


Highland
1
3
2
7
4
0
0


Lanarkshire
1
0
3
2
15
19
21


Lothian
163
152
130
136
134
238
284


Orkney
0
1
0
0
3
1
1


Shetland
2
3
5
0
14
7
6


Tayside
61
49
43
54
70
81
98


Western Isles
0
0
0
0
0
0
2


Northern Ireland*
0
0
0
0
0
0
2


Totals
399
377
348
411
390
571
679



  Note: *Because of limited facilities in Northern Ireland for people with sleep disorders, patients who require a "second opinion" (or the provision of a CPAP machine) in the view of the consultant, are referred to the Edinburgh Sleep Centre at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was allocated for the treatment of sleep disorders in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: Health Boards
Total Funding


1999-2000(£)
2000-01(£)
2001-02(£)
2002-03(£)
2003-04(£)
2004-05(£)
2005-06(£)


Argyll and Clyde
1,543
3,348
3,515
3,620
3,761
4,183
4,434


Ayrshire and Arran
943
3,104
3,255
3,353
3,483
3,874
4,106


Borders
30,515
24,870
40,561
41,778
43,400
52,814
55,983


Dumfries and Galloway
1,886
800
1,111
1,144
1,189
1,322
1,402


Fife
75,601
57,000
59,850
61,646
64,040
96,225
101,999


Forth Valley
37,801
47,293
50,407
51,919
53,935
62,118
65,845


Grampian
943
58,164
88,000
90,640
*
*
*


Greater Glasgow
2,914
8,000
10,160
10,465
10,871
12,091
12,816


Highland
1,371
5,872
6,166
6,351
6,598
7,338
7,779


Lanarkshire
9,429
10,126
10,632
10,951
11,376
14,783
15,670


Lothian
182,918
172,420
266,744
274,746
285,416
317,440
336,486


Orkney
771
779
877
1,143
1,062
1,334
1,414


Shetland
4,029
225
237
244
254
2,413
2,558


Tayside
54,515
62,000
65,100
67,053
69,657
91,274
96,740


Western Isles
86
459
482
496
516
574
608


Cumbria**
171
173
195
254
236
263
278


Northumberland**
600
606
682
889
826
1,038
1,100


Northern Ireland**
771
779
877
1,143
1,062
1,334
1,414


Totals
406,807
456,018
608,851
627,835
557,682
670,418
710,632



  Notes:

  *Local provision since 2003-04.

  **Because of limited facilities in Cumbria, Northumberland and Northern Ireland for people with sleep disorders, patients who require a "second opinion" (or the provision of a CPAP machine) in the view of the consultant, or need to be assessed by undergoing a sleep study which involves overnight stays are referred to the Edinburgh Sleep Centre at the RIE.

Hepatitis

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people contracted hepatitis C or non-A, non-B hepatitis in each year from 1978 to 1992.

Mr Andy Kerr: Non-A, non-B Hepatitis was a clinical diagnosis based on symptoms and confirmed by laboratories as not being Hepatitis A or Hepatitis B. The laboratories did not report such cases to Health Protection Scotland at the time. Thus, the information was not collected centrally and it is also unlikely to be available locally.

Homelessness

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households applied as homeless following the loss of private rented accommodation in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The number of homeless applications as a result of loss of private sector rented accommodation are shown below for 2002-03 to 2004-05. Data prior to 2002 do not identify private rented tenancies separately.

  Homeless Applications Due to Loss of Private Sector Tenancy by Local Authority: 2002-03 to 2004-05

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Scotland
3,344
3,866
4,457


Aberdeen City
136
161
127


Aberdeenshire
79
97
115


Angus
182
198
208


Argyll and Bute
59
103
128


Clackmannanshire
60
65
111


Dumfries and Galloway
158
172
145


Dundee City
82
100
169


East Ayrshire
63
73
102


East Dunbartonshire
22
53
49


East Lothian
41
44
40


East Renfrewshire
42
30
49


Edinburgh, City of
312
248
275


Eilean Siar
12
19
26


Falkirk
57
70
130


Fife
360
363
361


Glasgow City
375
481
422


Highland
189
316
342


Inverclyde
43
38
63


Midlothian
23
44
45


Moray
48
66
154


North Ayrshire
112
114
112


North Lanarkshire
131
157
251


Orkney
23
20
27


Perth and Kinross
136
137
188


Renfrewshire
69
99
115


Scottish Borders, The
71
121
103


Shetland
13
15
12


South Ayrshire
90
92
109


South Lanarkshire
145
174
183


Stirling
41
21
62


West Dunbartonshire
44
44
54


West Lothian
126
131
180



  Source: Scottish Executive Development Department Analytical Services Division (Housing Statistics).

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14152 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 March 2005, whether it is now considering a review of the levels of home loss payment.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is considering the appropriate level of home loss payments for Scotland and will consider bringing forward proposals in due course, should a change in levels be required.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many lawful evictions there were of private tenants in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the number of unlawful evictions of private tenants.

Malcolm Chisholm: Unlawful eviction is an offence under section 22 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984. Data on the number of such offences are available through the statistical and management information collected centrally on charges reported to procurators fiscal, convictions and sentences imposed by the courts.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of unlawful eviction were (a) referred to the procurator fiscal and (b) prosecuted and how many people were convicted of offences in this respect in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Colin Boyd QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database records details of the charges against each accused in terms of the specific common law or statutory offence that is alleged to have been committed.

  The following table shows the total number of charges for contraventions of the Rent Act 1984, Section 22(1) which relates to a landlord who deprives a resident of occupation. The information in the table is based on the financial year when charges were reported to individual procurators fiscal, and some charges are still the subject of on-going court proceedings.

  Information is available only in respect of Procurator Fiscal Areas and not by local authority areas.

  

 
PF Area
FY 2002-03
FY 2003-04
FY 2004-05
FY 2005-06


Reported
Aberdeen
1
0
1
0


Airdrie
0
3
0
0


Alloa
0
0
1
1


Arbroath
2
0
0
1


Ayr
1
3
0
0


Banff
2
0
0
0


Dumbarton
1
2
0
0


Dumfries
0
0
0
1


Dundee
0
5
0
1


Dunoon
0
0
0
1


Duns
0
0
0
1


Edinburgh
2
3
3
4


Falkirk
0
0
0
1


Forfar
0
0
0
1


Glasgow
1
4
4
3


Haddington
1
0
0
0


Hamilton
0
0
3
2


Inverness
0
0
0
3


Kilmarnock
0
0
0
1


Kirkcaldy
0
0
1
0


Kirkcudbright
0
0
1
0


Oban
1
0
0
0


Peebles
0
1
1
0


Perth
1
0
0
0


Selkirk
0
0
0
1


Stornoway
0
0
0
1


Stranraer
0
0
0
1


Prosecuted
Alloa
0
0
1
0


Arbroath
1
0
0
0


Dumfries
0
0
0
1


Dundee
0
2
0
1


Edinburgh
0
1
2
1


Glasgow
1
3
3
3


Hamilton
0
0
1
1


Inverness
0
0
0
1


Kirkcudbright
0
0
1
0


Peebles
0
0
1
0


Convicted
Edinburgh
0
1
0
0


Glasgow
0
0
1
0



  Notes:

  1. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s (COPFS) Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies.

  2. COPFS completed an upgrade of its electronic case management system in April 2002, and only case records created after that date contain complete data which is capable of electronic analysis.

  3. The database is charge-based, so the figures quoted relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges. If a Procurator Fiscal amends any charge submitted by a reporting agency, the database will record details only of the amended charge.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual administrative costs are to police forces of issuing fixed penalty fines, broken down by type of fine and constabulary area.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for chief constables.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8136 by Cathy Jamieson on 24 May 2004, whether it will provide details of the final costs of the Napier case, broken down into (a) counsel’s fees and court costs, (b) expert witness reports and evidence, (c) the Scottish Ministers’ liability for expenses to the petitioner and (d) other expenses.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The costs in the Napier case, to date, inclusive of VAT are (a) £486,674 for counsel’s fees and court costs, (b) £98,220 for expert witness reports and evidence, (c) £1,014,237 for the Scottish ministers’ liability for expenses to the petitioner and (d) £51, 718 for other expenses.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to petitions for judicial review in respect of "slopping out" other than petitions by Robert Napier and Scott Davidson, it will provide details of the costs incurred to date in the cases broken down into (a) counsel’s fees and court costs, (b) expert witness reports and evidence, (c) the Scottish ministers’ liability for expenses to the petitioner and (d) other expenses.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not routinely record detailed expenditure against individual cases, particularly since many of these cases raise identical issues. Since 1 April 2003 SPS has incurred separately identifiable costs (excluding expenditure on Napier and Davidson) of approximately £0.3 million in defending legal challenges to prison conditions based on the European Convention of Human Rights. Most of these challenges have related to slopping out.

Justice

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to replace the Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Removal of Judges) Order 1999 under an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

Cathy Jamieson: Ministers are consulting on proposals for a Bill on the Judiciary which would include repeal of the 1999 Order and its replacement with new provisions.

Local Government

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether the Local Government Review Committee is considering, or has considered, any of the changes to local government finance effective in Northern Ireland from next year and, if so, which ones.

George Lyon: The Local Government Finance Review Committee is independent of the Scottish Executive and the detailed content of their considerations is a matter for the committee.

Local Government

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many employment tribunals Dundee City Council has been involved in each of the last 10 years, broken down by council department.

Mr Tom McCabe: This is a matter for Dundee City Council. The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Government

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities recorded an improvement of more than 15% in only two of the 77 statutory performance indicators in each year since 2001.

Mr Tom McCabe: Statutory Performance Indicators (SPI) information is a matter for Audit Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally. Information on SPIs can be found on the Audit Scotland website at www.audit-scotland.gov.uk .

Local Government

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities recorded a deterioration of more than 15% in seven of the 77 statutory performance indicators in each year since 2001.

Mr Tom McCabe: SPI information is a matter for Audit Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally. Information on SPIs can be found on the Audit Scotland website at www.audit-scotland.gov.uk .

Ministerial Correspondence

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will reply to my letter dated 5 April 2006 regarding the Local Capital Grants Scheme.

Rhona Brankin: I replied on 2 May 2006.

Ministerial Correspondence

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Justice will reply to my letter of 5 April 2006 regarding the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003.

Robert Brown: The Deputy Minister for Education and Young People has portfolio responsibility for the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003. A reply to your letter of 5 April 2006 was issued on 11 May 2006.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were waiting for a first appointment at a sleep centre in each year since 1999, broken down by sleep centre.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for a first appointment at a sleep centre in each year since 1999, broken down by sleep centre.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Olympic Games

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to undertake an independent economic assessment of the impact of the London 2012 Olympic Games on Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21644 on 12 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Olympic Games

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific action it is taking to help Scottish businesses to bid for contracts relating to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has set up an Economic Development Sub-Group of the Scottish Steering Group for London 2012 whose remit is to maximise the economic benefits to Scotland of The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

  The sub-group is currently working towards ensuring that Scottish businesses and industry have as much notice as possible about when they can bid for contracts. The sub-group is also looking at ways they can help Scottish businesses and industry maximise their chances of submitting successful bids. To this end, as they receive information about the London 2012 procurement strategy, the sub-group will arrange workshops on bidding for Olympic contracts.

  The Economic Development sub-group is also planning to organise a conference for Scottish business before the next round of contracts are to be announced. Lord Coe, on his visit to Scotland on 4 May, told the sub-group that the next round of contracts will not be until next year.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs worked in the prison estate in each year since 1999, broken down by the specific duties that they undertook, and at what cost.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS only employs dogs for drug detection and prevention. In the financial years specified, the breakdown for public sector prisons is as follows:

  

Financial Year
No. of Dogs
Total Budget (inc Staff)


1999-2000
2
£48,919


2000-01
8
£142,794


2001-02
12
£286,840


2002-03
12
£288,799


2003-04
12
£264,603


2004-05
10
£209,910


2005-06
8
£180,245



  Any reporting on costs is a matter for HM Prison Kilmarnock. In addition, HM Prison Kilmarnock report the following:

  

Financial Year
No. of Dogs


1999-2000
1


2000-01
2


2001-02
2


2002-03
2


2003-04
2


2004-05
2


2005-06
1

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23155 by Cathy Jamieson on 20 March 2006, whether it will now reconsider its decision not to publish the MacLeod reports and the other report referred to, in light of the public comments made in The Scotsman newspaper on 27 March 2006 by the former Solicitor General for Scotland and High Court Judge, Lord McCluskey, that this rule "has no bearing whatsoever outside the confines of a live litigation in court", that "there is absolutely no rule or basic principle of Scots law that prevents the Scottish Executive from making the reports in question available to MSPs" and that "Ministers cannot plead confidentiality when the litigation in question is finished and the taxpayer has paid over a million pounds in damages and expenses".

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-23155 and S2W-25240 on 20 March 2006 and 11 May 2006 respectively. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at: www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-20247, S2W-23158, S2W-23156 and S2W-24271 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 November 2005, 17 February, 10 March and 4 April 2006 respectively and given that the disputed fingerprint was alleged to be that of Shirley McKie, whether any other disagreement exists within the Scottish Fingerprint Service with regard to the Marion Ross murder case.

Cathy Jamieson: It is a matter of public record that the fingerprint designated Y7 and initially attributed to Shirley McKie, and in relation to which the Scottish ministers have acknowledged that there was a misidentification, continues to be the subject of disagreement within the Scottish Fingerprint Service. As regards the other fingerprints associated with the Marion Ross murder case, we are aware that there are different views within the Scottish Fingerprint Service about the print designated QI2 and attributed to Marion Ross.

Scottish Executive Advertising

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its advertising budget was, and how many advertising campaigns it ran, in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S1W-26485, answered on 3 July 2002, providing information on advertising spend by the Scottish Office-Scottish Executive Departments from 1991-92 to 2001-02.

  For information on the Scottish Executive’s advertising spend for 2002-03 please see answer to question S2W-2481. For information on advertising spend for 2003-04 please see the answer to question S2W-15204.

  Advertising spend for 2004-2005 is published on the Scottish Executive Marketing Unit website. Please see attached link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/media/17963/adspend05.

  Scottish Executive advertising spend for 2005-2006 is detailed in the following table. Please note these figures are un-reconciled. Definitive figures will be published in July 06:

  

Campaign
Total


Alcohol
£664,223.89


ASB
£251,372.67


Career Opps in NHS Scotland
£976,107.92


Children’s Hearings
£99,643.02


Domestic Abuse
£295,950.03


Drug Misuse
£967,016.93


Environment
£368,951.96


Fire Domestic
£287,463.05


Flu
£365,333.28


Healthy Living
£743,600.76


Mental Health
£117,683.10


Organ Donation
£190,570.49


Race
£611,471.60


Road Safety
£605,732.53


Smoking
£1,056,867.36


Teacher Recruitment
£618,668.61


Violence Against PS Workers
£163,263.66


Volunteering
£164,003.13


Miscellaneous
£791,458.64


Total
£9,339,382.63



  The miscellaneous figure is advertising expenditure outwith specific campaigns. This includes the central purchase of a block of outdoor advertising which is used throughout the year by the campaigns listed.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of all sums paid in sponsorship to newspapers in the last five financial years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has made no payments under the broad heading of "sponsorship" to any newspaper since January 2002 when the current accounting system was introduced.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours were spent by its staff attending away days in each year since 2000, broken down by department.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information is not held centrally. The Scottish Executive values learning, development and training and uses the full range of learning opportunities available to it to support organisational development.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on facilities, materials, transport and other related activities and support for its staff who attended away days in each year since 2000, broken down by department.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally. Such events are generally organised locally by individual business units within the Executive and are funded within locally devolved budgets. The Scottish Executive values learning, development and training and uses the full range of learning opportunities to support staff and organisational development.

Scottish Water

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the privatisation of Scottish Water.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has had no discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the privatisation of Scottish Water.

Social Work

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will work with banks to promote and encourage the use of basic bank accounts.

Johann Lamont: We are in early discussions with banks and other finance providers to promote a range of financial products including basic bank accounts. We are also in contact with Treasury colleagues and the Financial Inclusion Task Force who are working with the banking industry on a GB-wide level to reduce the number of people who are "unbanked".

  In addition, I currently chair Young Scot’s Money Advisory Group whose remit includes reviewing the provision of financial products and services available to young people.

Social Work

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to the training of social work staff in children’s services in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Robert Brown: This information is currently not held centrally.

  Specific Grant for Social Work Training of £5.5 million per annum is allocated to local authorities. This ring fenced funding is to improve the quality of social work service provision by increasing the availability of training for relevant staff. It is not possible to disaggregate the funding specifically spent on children’s services.

  

Specific Grant
Initial Allocation
Supplementary Funding


2000-01
£2,430,000
 


2001-02
£2,200,000
£3,500,000


2002-03
£2,200,000
£3,500,000


2003-04
£5,500,000
 


2004-05
£5,500,000
 


2005-06
£5,500,000
 



  An additional £6 million was awarded for three financial years commencing 2005-06 through the Early Years and Childcare Workforce Development fund to support the growth and development of a qualified and skilled early years and child care workforce.

  The Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC) was established in 1999 to ensure that residential child care staff throughout Scotland has access to the skills and knowledge they require to meet the needs of children and young people in their care.

  

SIRCC
Allocation


2000-01
£1,200,000


2001-02
£1,434,728


2002-03
£1,578,529


2003-04
£1,821,581


2004-05
£2,316,518


2005-06
£2,247,830



  A further £0.6 million was awarded over the financial years 2003-04 and 2004-05 to Children at the Centre. This funding was to provide child protection training to social workers in local authorities and other relevant staff including drug workers.

Tourism

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what value eco-tourism contributes to the Scottish economy.

Patricia Ferguson: The term eco-tourism can cover a very wide spectrum of tourism activities related to the appreciation of Scotland’s environment in one form or another. At one end of that spectrum are carefully planned visits to view our superb wildlife; Scotland is regarded as Europe’s top wildlife watching destination, and this market sector is increasingly popular. Many more visitors come to enjoy our breathtaking scenery at first hand, for example by engaging in hill walking for all or part of their trip. At the other end of the spectrum, eco-tourism can refer to the growing number of visitors who want to be assured that all aspects of their stay, whether in a city or in the country, are environmentally sustainable.

  It is therefore difficult to gauge the value of eco-tourism to the economy. However, VisitScotland’s Tourism Attitudes Survey for 2005 revealed that 89% of people questioned said the natural environment was very or quite important in choosing Scotland as a holiday destination, with 65% saying that it had become more important in recent years. 37% said scenery was the main attraction about Scotland that prompted them to book a holiday here, while 14% were specifically interested in nature/wildlife, although as many as 51% said they had participated in a wildlife-watching activity while here on holiday. It is clear therefore that eco-tourism in whatever form it might take is fundamentally important to the overall tourism economy, which is worth over £4.5 billion a year in revenue terms to the Scottish economy.

Water Safety

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has undertaken to examine the extent of lead contamination in the public water supply, broken down into studies on the extent of such contamination in (a) the general supply and (b) homes.

Rhona Brankin: Lead contamination of drinking water arises from old lead pipes. There are no lead pipes in the public water supply distribution network. Old lead pipes are still in use as service pipes (connecting premises to the water main in the street) and as internal plumbing in older buildings. Lead plumbing is generally confined to premises built before 1964 but the use of lead service pipes continued in some parts of Scotland until 1971.

  Scottish Water routinely samples and tests for lead in accordance with the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001. In 2004, 1,810 samples were taken from consumers’ taps in Scotland and analysed for lead. Of these, 20 exceeded the standard of 25 microgrammes per litre. Where the standard was exceeded, the owner/occupier of the building was advised of the risk from lead in drinking water and the steps that they could take to minimise that risk.

  The three former water authorities undertook detailed lead studies between 1999 and 2002 to identify areas where plumbosolvency control was required at water treatment works. Plumbosolvency control minimises the extent to which lead is dissolved from service pipes and plumbing.

  In 2002, the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (now Health Protection Scotland) undertook a study of new homes in Scotland to determine the extent of the illegal use of lead solder in plumbing in new homes.